The Successful Business Owners Manual
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WARNING!
Do not choose a
tax preparer
until you read this!

Enrolled Agents – The First Tax Professionals, established by an Act of Congress, 1884

Just because a person has the designation “CPA” after his name doesn’t mean he knows how to prepare a tax return. And just because the “big name firms” do a lot of advertsing doesn’t mean their rates are reasonable or that they necessarily know what they’re doing.

That being said, you should follow these observations when choosing a tax preparer:

• Do not use a tax preparer who guarantees you a bigger refund, or who guarantees a refund period. No tax preparer anywhere can guarantee you a refund if your individual facts and circumstances – your actual numbers – do not warrant a refund unless he/she makes up deductions or exemptions or purposely does not report all your income. Either way that is tax fraud! The only claim or guarantee any legitimate tax preparer can make is that by using his/her services you will pay the absolute least amount of federal and state income taxes possible for your individual situation.
   
• Do not choose a preparer who charges as his/her fee a percentage of your refund or of the amount of tax he/she has saved you. This practice is illegal and unethical (except when preparing an amended return). Chances are the person will illegally inflate your refund or savings to increase his/her fee. The fee for preparing a tax return should be based solely on the amount of time involved and/or the number of forms and schedules required.
   
• Do not choose a tax preparer solely for the reason that he/she tells you that you can walk out of the office with a check in your hand. That person or firm is not selling competent and accurate tax preparation – they are selling usurious Refund Anticipation Loans, which you should avoid like the plague. You want to use a tax preparer that is experienced and knowledgeable in tax law and not a loan shark.  This one point alone will eliminate tens of thousands of tax preparation offices.
   
• Do not choose a tax preparer who will not sign your finished returns. All tax preparers are required by the IRS to sign all tax returns which they have been paid to prepare. If a person prepares your return and refuses to sign it you should refuse to pay him/her and take your business elsewhere.
   
• Perhaps the biggest mistake, do not choose a “box” as your tax preparer. This cannot be stressed strongly enough – no tax preparation software is a substitute for knowledge of the Tax Code. And no tax preparation software is a substitute for the services of a trained tax professional! As with any software program the rule is “garbage in – garbage out”. 
  
  When the IRS comes after you for errors on your tax return you can’t blame it on the software, unless you have been nominated for a top level position in the federal administration. The US Tax Court has on two separate occasions rejected the “Turbo-Tax Defense”.
  
  The IRS estimates that do-it-yourself software users spend an average of 10 to over 20 hours longer on a return than if they used a paid tax preparer, depending on complexity of the return.
  
  The bottom line is – if you don’t know what you are doing do not rely on a tax preparation software package to make up for your lack of tax knowledge. Using a real live tax professional will save you time, aggravation and money.
   
• And one final item - Remember this ...-
  
  You are responsible for all the information reported on the returns. If you find anything that is not in order, or that you do not understand, contact your tax preparer immediately.
   

Information above courtesy of a variety of public sources including the IRS and The Wandering Tax Pro.

Need a tax accountant? Need a Sacramento accountant?  Need an EA? Need a Sacramento EA?  Need an Enrolled Agent? Need a Sacramento Enrolled Agent?  Have a tax problem? Are you being audited by the IRS? Are you under an IRS audit or IRS examination? Do you have a collection problem with the IRS? If you need IRS help or IRS tax help, we can assist you.  If you have tax problems, IRS tax problems, we are an enrolled agent.  If you have IRS tax debts or an irs tax levy, we can help with your IRS problems. If you owe money for back taxes or if you have IRS penalties and interest, we provide tax help in these areas.  Has the IRS filed a tax lien against you? Need to do an Offer in Compromise? Need a tax preparer? Need a Sacramento tax preparer? Need tax preparation? If you have tax questions, just ask us, we can help with your IRS tax questions. If you’re looking for a tax advisor or a tax consultant, we are ready, willing and able to help you.  If you want to know about income tax deductions or wonder what income tax bracket you fall into, we can help with that. Need Sacramento tax preparation? Need a bookkeeper? Need a Sacramento bookkeeper?  Need a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor? We provide tax accounting services for small business owners.  We provide tax preparation assistance.  If you need corporate tax filings done, we can help with that as well.  Need payroll services? Need payroll services in Sacramento? Need to file your tax returns?  We can file your federal tax returns and your state tax returns.  Even if you haven’t filed your tax returns in a while and the tax returns are late, we can file your late tax returns for you. Looking for income tax preparation?  Need an income tax preparer?  File your Federal income taxes with us.  We give tax advice. We do tax consulting.  We are a Sacramento tax consultant. We do tax preparation services.  Need help starting a new business in Sacramento? We do small business taxes in Sacramento also. We do small business tax planning so you can reduce your business taxes.  We are tax professionals and we are in Sacramento, CA.  We do tax return services.  If you need federal income tax help, you’ve come to the right place.  If filing your federal income tax return is a burden, let us help you with filing your income tax return. When you have IRS tax problems, we can help. We also provide small business accounting services, so if you need a business accountant, you’ve come to the right place.  Need Quickbooks help or QuickBooks training in Sacramento? Sacramento Bookkeeping & Payroll Services, Tax Preparation for All 50 States, California Franchise Tax and Sales Tax Help. IRS Tax Help, IRS Relief, California Income Tax Preparer, Estate Tax Planning, Tax Lien and Tax Resolution Help. Some have even said that we’re the best tax preparer in Sacramento. Better Business Ventures serves the communities of Sacramento, Auburn, Carmichael, Citrus Heights, Davis, Dixon, Elk Grove, Elverta, Fair Oaks, Folsom, Lincoln, Loomis, North Highlands, Orangevale, Placerville, Rancho Cordova, Rio Linda, Rocklin, Roseville, Shingle Springs, West Sacramento, Woodland, Yolo. Call us at 916-481-5252 to arrange an immediate appointment. 

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